App of the Week :: Count Dracu1 Meet My Friends

When App Developer Popcorn Grenade asked me to review their new app CountDrac1 I couldn’t wait to check out this Halloween app! This is my favorite time of year as many of you know (and some even share my favorite holiday – yep, Halloween) so this was a real treat. We are greeted by CountDrac and he tells us to look around his house. Among other things we see is a coffin that when touched opens and we fin Rasta “who is sad because he is missing his teddy bear, which is to bad.” But don’t worry, the skeleton teddy bear is on the ground and when Count Drac hands it to this Rasta hat wearing skeleton (I mean his name is Rasta after all) he thanks his friend.

Okay, so this is going to be a funny and silly app – can’t wait! When you touch the skull that is sitting on what looks like a monsters feet table it giggles while opening his mouth. And when you tap Count Drac twice, he turns into a bat and flies around the room. There is even a spider in the upper corner who will crawl up and down his web when touched. This is any kids delight! Or any big kid who loves anything to do with Halloween! You have the option to turn the sound off or on and there is an arrow blinking on each page if you want to turn the page.

Next page we see Frankie (a rather large Frankenstein) who we are told likes to play basketball. When you tap him, he asks you if you have seen his basketball. I realized immediately that we are suppose to look for these items that Count Drac’s friends ask for. So just tap around the screen to see where the basketball might be hidden. Once it is found you drag it across the screen and give it to Frankie who says in a funny East Coast accent “Great, let’s go shoot some hops, huh?” Hysterical! Wait til you see what the silly painting does when you touch it. The animations are simple, but boy is this app fun! Each page asks for us to do some counting or matching or searching. I like that there are educational features in this app but in a setting that makes learning quite fun!

There is a lot to do on each page so to keep the kids coming back again and again to see if they might have missed something. Each page introduces you to a new multicultural friend who is either looking for something, playing hide-and-seek or like in the case of Howie (a chubby wolf) who has a eastern European accent tells us that “I am hungry, you feed me?” Image this in this accent – too funny! So of course, we have to look around the room to find some food to feed him (though he could probably lose a pound or two=) But what, imagine what happens when you hand him a piece of cheese we find… this type of humor goes over big with boys and girls! I think our favorite friend though is his mummy friend who likes to dance to disco – but first you have to find the boom box and put it together – so there is some matching games going on in the app as well. This is such a fun app and perfect for this holiday season!

From the Developer:

CountDracu1 – an interactive storybook / adventure game app for toddlers & pre-school kids (ages 2 to 5 years). The app stars Count Dracu Jr. (a friendly vampire from Toronto, Canada), as he takes kids through his house and introduces them to his circle of multicultural friends; there’s Frankie the Jewish Frankenstein, Raggy the Egyptian mummy, Howie the Ukrainian werewolf, Yetinder the Indian yeti, and many more lovable characters. Each of his friends are missing something, and kids to help Count Dracu find it. Also collect all the medallions, and they’ll get a chance to win a prize at the end of the game.

Features: 

Kids get to move Count Dracu Jr. through each of the rooms, transform him into a bat (by double tapping on him), as well as interact with each of Count Dracu’s friends, using simple touch and drag actions. 

Meet 11 zany characters from around the globe – each with their own accent and puzzle to solve 

Teaches kids about problem solving, as well as to appreciate different ethnic accents 

The app can be used as a storybook app, where-by kids can mute Dracu’s voice, and read the storybook by themselves (iPad feature). 

If kids collect all the medallions, and reach the end of the game, they’ll get a chance to win a 17″ Count Dracu Plush Doll, as well as other great prizes.

About Popcorn Grenade: CountDracu1 is the first in series of children’s’ apps created by Canadian illustrator, animator, and programmer Denny Kurien. He and his wife, Mary, run a small, independent, mom & pop shop in Toronto that produces early-learning apps for toddlers and pre-school kids (2 – 5 year olds).

Pricing and Availability:CountDracu1 sells for $0.99 on the App Store, and is also available on the Android, and Kindle. CountDracu1 LITE is available for free, whereby users get to try out the first 4 levels of the app, before the decide to buy it. Keep your eyes out for more apps and online videos staring Count Dracu and his friends.

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